O'Brien's Desk. Ona Russell

      Exactly why everyone was so interested in these activities and why O’Donnell so willingly divulged such information had always been a mystery to Mitchell. But what this long-standing tradition did underscore was the curiousness of the rare instances when the judge resolutely denied the press such access. According to the date of this specific paper, Mitchell determined that one of these times oddly enough occurred on the same day as Rubini’s performance.

      “After responding to a number of questions about his ruling a few hours earlier on the Emanuel Cavender case, Judge O’Donnell refused for the second time that day to reveal the location of his Christmas holiday.”

      Stating that the judge was “Sphinx-like” when asked about his plans, the reporter furthermore suggested a willful inscrutability on O’Donnell’s part, an attitude so uncharacteristic, that it should have aroused suspicion in any Toledoan who was even remotely familiar with the man.